The New Government
Crucial Tasks Ahead

By Prem N. Kakkar

HIS Majesty the King's appointment of a nine-member cabinet headed by Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand, last Friday, marked a new chapter in the line of events of the past few months.
The ministers in the new cabinet consists mostly of people who have not been directly involved in political activity of any sort. It must be taken as positive gesture when the past few years have seen quite turbulent political scene. It is the government whose duty is to see that the peace is maintained and security enhanced for the people.

For the people living in Kathmandu, the country's capital, the sense of security is present but that is not the whole country. The need therefore is to bring back peace to all the parts of the country.

Improvements

Since last November 13, 2001, when the State of Emergency was imposed, when all the security forces were mobilised to tackle the Maoist terrorism, the country has seen improvements in the security situation. But there is still some way to go before peace returns to the troubled areas especially in the Far Western Region.

The people must be able to lead their lives in peace and without any fear. There has been marked improvement in the situation but it is still not enough. In fact, the government headed by former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had tried his best to bring normalcy in the country but his efforts were not enough. The Nepali Congress party, which was the biggest democratic force in the country, split into two factions. This was a rather unfortunate development.

The dissolution of the House of Representatives and the announcement of fresh elections marked another chapter in the political front. Without the security situation in the country improving, it seemed difficult even then on the holding of the elections. Yet, the assertion was there from the then prime minister that the elections would be held as per schedule. However, analysts felt that it would not be possible to hold the elections as had been decided. The experts felt that under the circumstances that the country was going through, to make all the logistical arrangements for the polls would be very difficult.

Through the Royal Address that dismissed the government led by Deuba, a new scenario has emerged. It drew mixed reactions from the various parties. But the people in general felt that hope was emerging for bringing the country on the right track. This was mainly felt by the businesspeople particularly those engaged in the tourism sector.

This was right because in the past few years, despite the great tourist attractions in the country, the number of incoming tourists fell to record low. The economy of the country in a very disappointing state, the need was felt for a clear-cut directions. Though a new government has been formed to enhance security and hold general elections at the earliest, the going will not be easy.

The political parties want the elections to be held as early as possible. This is a difficult task considering that there are many troubled areas in the country where the situation has to be brought under control. It is not an easy task. Yet, now that the biggest festival is almost over, the government must start working seriously working out strategies so that the work it has been entrusted could be fulfilled.

The fact that non-political individuals dominate the cabinet, it, however, does not mean that they cannot achieve their objectives. Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand has said that the government alone cannot do everything, therefore it is essential that the political parties as well as the general people who have to come forward to assist in seeing that peace returns and fair, impartial elections are held. But, for this the date for the elections have to be announced together with improving the security situation in the country.

There are many hurdles to be crossed before the elections are held and according to the mandate of the people the government can be formed. Herein, it is important that the Maoists too must be persuaded to join the mainstream politics. With everyone for democracy, there is a need to see that democracy is further strengthened. And general elections is the only way that democracy can be further nurtured that is to say that the participation of the people is the very foundation.

Crucial

It is not only the general elections that is important, the local level elections too are important. For this, too, the government must give thought. The days ahead, for the government, are crucial. On this front, the support and suggestions of the political parties in the country are also vital. They must not be ignored. Optimism now prevails that once the elections are held better days would be back once again.

Abstinence: An Option For Adolescents

By Kathleen Henry Shears

EVIDENCE that sexual abstinence may have played an important role in reducing HIV infection in Uganda has renewed interest in promoting this method of protection against unplanned pregnancy, HIV, and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Advantages

Abstinence offers adolescents, in particular, a number of advantages. Young people are vulnerable to unplanned pregnancy, but they often find it difficult to obtain contraceptives. Sexual abstinence requires no supplies or clinic visits. And complete abstinence is the most effective means of protecting against both pregnancy and STIs.

In practice, however, abstaining from sex tends to be less effective than many contraceptive methods because complete abstinence requires strong motivation, selfcontrol, and commitment. Also, many questions about sexual abstinence remain unanswered. How can it be encouraged ? How should it even be defined? Controversy surrounds programmes that promote abstinence as the only means of protection against unplanned pregnancy and STIs, and the effectiveness of such programmes is still unknown.

Meanwhile, evidence from many countries suggests that comprehensive sexual health progrmmes that encourage abstinence while providing medically accurate information about contraception and condom use can reduce sexual activity among young people. Such programmes can also increase condom and other contraceptive use among sexually active youth.

"Counseling of adolescents should include information about both abstinence and the use of contraceptive methods," says Dr. Roberto Rivera, director of FHI's Office of International Research Ethics and principal author of a World Health Organisation (WHO) special communication on adolescent contraception. "The World Health Orgnisation states that age alone is not a medical reason to deny any available contraceptive method to an adolescent. Many adolescents - married and unmarried- are sexually active and have the right to information that will enable them to protect themselves from unplanned pregnancy and STIs. Providers should be aware of adolescents' special needs to help them make well-informed choices about contraception."

Uganda's dramatic decline in HIV prevalence during the past decade has coincided with marked increases in sexual abstinence and grater fidelity in relationships, according to an analysis of data from the 1995 and 2000- Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and from Ugandan Ministry of Health (MOH) behavioral surveys conducted in 1997, 2000, and 2001.

In 1996, Uganda became the first African country to report a substantial decline in national HIV rates. During the 1990s, the proportion of women testing positive for HIV in antenatal clinics (a population considered fairly representative of the adult population) dropped from 21 per cent to 6 per cent.
Meanwhile, in the DHS and MOH surveys, a higher proportion of respondents reported being faithful to their partners, having fewer sex partners, abstaining from sex, or delaying sexual debut than reported using or beginning to use condoms. About one out of every five Ugandan men and women said they had ever used a condom, while only 5 per cent to 9 per cent reported having "non-regular" partners - a measure of fidelity to a regular partner or partners. Twenty-five per cent to 35 per cent said they abstained form sex.

This high rate of sexual abstinence is mainly a result of the increasing number of young Ugandans postponing their first sexual activity. Nationally, the proportion of 15-to 19-year-olds reporting that they had "never had sex" rose from 31 per cent to 56 per cent among young men and from 26 per cent to 46 per cent among young women from 1989 to 1995. A study in the major urban districts of Kampala and Jinja, Uganda, found a two-year delay in sexual debut among 15- to 24-year-olds between 1989 and 1995? The increasingly high rate of sexual abstinence was even more striking among younger adolescents surveyed in Soroti District, Uganda. The proportion of 14 and 15-year-old students there reporting that they had "never had sex" rise from 39 per cent to 95 per cent among boys and from 66 per cent to 98 per cent among girls from 1994 to 2001.

Uganda's unprecedented success in controlling HIV has been attributed to strong government leadership and its "ABC" approach to HIV prevention. Since the late 1980s, governmental and non-governmental HIV prevention programmes have urged Ugandans to: abstain from sex, be faithful to one partner, or - if they cannot do "A" or "B" - use condoms.

To gain a better understanding of the impact of each of these prevention strategies in Uganda, Zambia, and other countries, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is funding a two phase "ABC Study." Conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, MEASURE Evaluation, Population Services International, and the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the study will begin with a thorough review of data to asses "ABC" behavior change and its effect on HIV prevalence in countries where infection rates have declined and in countries where they have not.

The study will also analyse the effect of "ABC" behavior change on fertility. In Uganda, where the average number of children per family is seven, reduced sexual risk behavior does not appear to have affected fertility.

Many experts endorse a comprehensive strategy, such as Uganda's "ABC" approach, as the most effective way to prevent HIV and other STIs or unplanned pregnancy among youth. Others support promoting abstinence only, saying that teaching young people about both abstinence and condom or other contraceptive use sends a mixed message and encourages them to become sexually active.

Abstinence promotion has become the main approach of the federal government to preventing adolescent pregnancy and HIV infection in the United States, where the government provides $100 million a year for abstinence only education. Schools, youth programmes, and media campaigns that receive this funding are required to teach that sexual activity outside of marrige is likely to have "harmful psychological and physical effects." They are also prohibited from providing information about contraception, except method failure rates. In a recent review of U.S. programmes to reduce teen pregnancy, Dr. Douglas Kirby of California-based ETR Associates identified three studies with experimental or quasi-experimental designs evaluation the impact of abstinence-only programmes. None of these studies found any effect on sexual behavior, but Dr. Kirby warns that the programmes evaluated do not reflect the diversity of such programmes.

A conclusive answer to whether the abstinence-only approach is effective will require larger, more rigorous studies than have been conducted to date. One such study, which is being conducted for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is a five-year evaluation of 11 abstinence-only programmes. Findings on the short-term effects of the programmes are due in 2003.

Meanwhile, two major reviews have looked at the behavioral impact of comprehensive sexual health and HIV education. One analysed 67 experimental and quasi-experimental studies conducted in the United States. The other reviewed 47 published studies from more than eight countries, including 11 controlled intervention studies. Both reviews found that comprehensive sex education did not lead to increased sexual activity among adolescents. In fact, some studies found that it had raised the age of sexual initiation, reduced the frequency of sex, and convinced young people to have fewer sexual partners.

The U.S. law that created abstinence-only education programmes defines these programmes but does not define abstinence itself. Some abstinence-only programmes have developed their own definitions of the kinds of sexual activity that should be avoided until marriage. Others do not define the term, believing that identifying the behaviors to abstain from would violate children's innocence and provide them with a "how-to" manual of sexual activity.

But studies from a number of countries suggest that without such information, young people may conclude that vaginal intercourse is the only sexual behavior that is risky. They may then engage in other sexual activities that can put them at some- if not heightened - risk of contracting HIV and other STIs.

Young women interviewed for a study in Mauritius described a practice known as dans bords (light sex), which involves rubbing the penis against the vagina and some penetration, but is not considered sexual intercourse because it does not cause bleeding or pain. In focus group discussions and interviews conducted in Brazil and Guatemala, young people reported that some of their peers practice anal sex to protect a girl's virginity and prevent conception. A number of surveys have found high rates of heterosexual anal sex among young people, from 9 per cent to 38 per cent among female adolescents in low-income, urban areas in the United States, to 12 per cent among female college students in Togo, to 44 per cent among sexual active, male college students in Puerto Rico. Studies of heterosexual HIV transmission have identified anal sex as the most predictive risk factor for becoming infected with HIV.

Risk

Unlike anal or vaginal sex, oral sex presents very little risk for HIV transmission. However, other STIs, including human papillomavirus, herpes simplex B, gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydial infection, can be transmitted orally. Data on oral sex among youth are scarce. The only nationally representative study to look at this question found no increase in reported experience with oral sex among U.S. adolescent males ages 15 to 19 years from 1988 to 1995. But largely anecdotal reports suggest that U.S. adolescents are engaging in oral sex at earlier ages.

(Network)

Delegating Authority

By Sarad K. Shrestha

DELEGATION is the process of assignment of part of our authority and responsibility for work activities to subordinates. It means, retaining overall responsibility/accountability with us while giving away authority and responsibility for implementation to others. Primarily, there are three elements in the delegation process namely overall responsibility, authority for decision-making and responsibility for implementation.

Skillful delegation increases the time we have to do our work, the capabilities and knowledge of our subordinates, demonstrates trust and confidence in our subordinates and enhances the commitment of subordinates because of their participation in decision making. Even though we recognise the benefits of delegation, we may be hesitant to delegate. It is due to attitudes about subordinates/personal security/personal preference and concern for prestige. We believe subordinates are not competent or are not interested in accepting responsibility. We feel we will lose the recognition and rewards associated with task accomplishment or we are unwilling to share information or be responsible for subordinate mistakes. We prefer to do the routine mundane task rather than take the time to train others. And we feel that we are giving away our own authority/power for good.
Work that is particulary suitable for delegation includes routine works, fact finding assignments/preparation of drafts for reports and memos/tasks for which certain colleagues have a particular skills/aptitude. There are some works which should not be delegated such as work we have to do by ourself, work in emergency situations where our skill and experience are required, jobs which need some unofficial or special actions and job of assessing/evaluating other staff. Suitable works should be delegated to our immediate subordinate, not to his/her junior staff. Such works should be delegated to those who have willingness to accept responsibility. As one of the main rules of effective delegation, is made clearly and completely i.e. specify the task, expected level of performance, reporting deadlines and constraints and explain how to do the job. Likewise subordinates should understand well what they are to do and agree they are willing and able to undertake the task, establish parity between authority and responsibility to match the responsibilities, provide adequate support for delegated tasks in terms of information, resources and rewards, remain accessible for help, focus responsibility on results rather than the means used to achieve them, stand behind subordinates. Finally we should not hesitate to praise for good work.

In our national context, effective delegation of authority is a must for individual/organisational growth. It is therefore, better and essential to adopt the above rules of delegation in terms of individual/organisational development. The higher authorities need special focus on the rules of effective delegation to meet the stated goals/objectives of organisations where they work in view of national development. It should be always kept in mind that good delegation does not lessen the power of the manager but in fact it actually extends the ability of the manager to achieve goals. Delegation, in deed generates staff commitment, satisfaction and growing interdependence.